Extra Credit

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The Hunger Game Movie Review

The Hunger Game is a film about different types of people and how they are divided among the poor and the rich. In the film, the people who are poor live in districts in what the film calls it Panem and the rich live in the capital of Panem. There are twelve districts in the world of Panem. In every district, the people have their own values and identity. The film is focused on a game where it seems that the lives of the poor do not matter to the rich. The film revolves around the poor people of Panem who are hungry. The rich have always been able to control countries. Money has always given people the power to govern certain place where poor people have no say in anything.

The focus of the film and book is food. Food is important for the people in Pamen and for those other counties that don’t have food. The people in the districts are starving. Just like many other countries that we see on television. The difference between Panem and other country is that Panem is being control by the rich on what they can eat and their social economics. Even the name of the place where all the people live is associated with food. In both film and the book the main character is about Katniss and her struggle to feed herself and her family. Katniss memories of Panem in the book was about a night when it was raining and for the first time she saw Peeta Mellark. According to Katniss she describes, “the connection between this boy, Peeta Mellark and the bread that gave her hope.” (Collins, 2008, p.32) The feeling Katniss had when she received the bread was joy, because she had something to take home to feed her mother and sister. Bread is described in every district different because it is based on what is grown in that particular district. Bread is a survival food for those in the districts and for countries that are poor, bread is the easiest and cheapest food that the people can obtain for survival. Bread is also the cheapest way to survive hunger within each district. In the film, bread is seen but it is not common as it is written in the book.

Katniss belongs to district twelve, where most of the people are trained and educated to know about the Hunger Game and working at the mines. The book describes how Katniss her father showed her how to hunt. She felt grateful that her father showed her how to hunt, because this was the only way she can provide food for her family and be able to survive hunger. In the film, it shows her hunting before the game started. In every district, there are people who have children and every child who lives in the district must participates in the games. The age of the participant is from twelve to eighteen. Every district needs to send two people, a boy and a girl. In the film and book, when Katniss’ sister’s name is pulled Katniss looks in shock. She then quickly volunteers on behalf of her sister. She figures that she can do better than her sister, Prim, since she was taught by her father how to hunt and how to make arrows for a bow. In the film, the scene where she was on her way to the Capital, the train was full of food, whereas in the book Katniss is describing the smell and the taste of the food as she is eating it. Since Katniss did not have food to eat on a daily basis, her stomach was not used to eating everything that was given to her prior to the games. Katniss and Peeta ate, but Katniss describes in the book that she could not hold it down. It seems that in The Hunger Games the food was used like a leverage by the Capital because if they would be hungry, they could ask the people that were running the show to provide them with food in exchange for their name being put in the fish bowl multiple times. In the Capital there is a lot of food everywhere they look. Katniss describes juice as the most delicious thing that she has ever drunk, which made her think about her father at one point when she was drink orange juice, because he had brought home a drink that resembles the orange juice. Most of Katniss’ memories of food reminds her of her father and how he provided for the family and how he showed her how to survive.

During the game while they are fighting each other, Katniss is looking around to see what she can eat. She then sees the little girl from District eleven. District eleven’s specialty was agriculture and Rue had a lot of experience with plants and trees. Rue knew which plants and trees they could eat. They help eat other with the hunting. Rue’s knowledge and Katniss’ skill of hunting animals were a great way to stay alive in the game. Katniss sees Rue as her little sister, and she had becomes fond of her. During the game, Rue is killed. In the book, District eleven sends bread, which means a lot to Katniss. She was not sure if it was for her or Rue, but she still made an effort to show District eleven that she was very appreciative with the gift she received. She describes the bread being “sprinkle with seeds.” (Collins, 2008, p.239) then “lifts her face and steps into the last falling rays of sunlight” (Collins, 2008, S. p. 239) to acknowledge that she appreciates the gift they sent her. This is another moment that bread comes into the book and it seems that bread is valuable for those who do not have food every day.

In conclusion, The Hunger Game can be described as a game that favors the rich and gives a disadvantage to those who live in the districts Many of the districts only way of fighting hunger is by asking the people in charge for food and agreeing to add their name multiple times to the fish bowl so they are more likely to be picked for The Hunger Games. This is a game for the rich because they are able to control the economic level of poverty. The rich have always been able to control the different society base on education and money.

Reference:

Collins, S. (2008) The Hunger Games

Ross, G., Tucci, S., Bentley, W., Banks, E., Lawrence, J., Hemsworth, L., Collins, S., (2012). The Hunger Game. United States: Alliance Film.

The Hunger Games

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The Hunger Games

As with most films that are adapted from a novel, The Hunger Games novel provided more detail on the relationship that people had with food, however, the basic premise of the Hunger Games storyline is that heroine, Katniss and her family live in a constant state of food insecurity. The residents of District 12 are not allowed to go beyond the electrified gates of the district without the threat of being captured by government officials or killed by wild animals. “District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety.” Despite that fact, the film opens with Katniss outside of her district, in the woods, hunting for food. Katniss is only sixteen years old, but she has taken on the responsibility of providing for her family since her father was killed in a work accident. Katniss’s mother suffers from sever depression and is incapable of caring for her two daughters. Katniss and her friend, Gale, regularly risk their lives to gather fruits and vegetable and to kill animals to eat and to sell. The first time that we see actual food in the film, Gale shares with Katniss, a piece of bread that he traded for a squirrel. Katniss excitedly puts the bread up to her nose and asks if it’s real. In this case, food is motivation enough to risk life and freedom.

On the day that we are introduced to Katniss and Gale, the residents of District Twelve are to gather up their children for day of the reaping. This is the day that government officials select two children between the ages of 12-18, from each district to participate in the Hunger Games where the fight to the death for on live television. There is a general method for each child to be entered into the reaping, however, poor families usually opt to have their child’s name added more times in exchange for food. Here, parents often sacrifice their children’s lives in exchange for basic food items.
Katniss’s baby sister’s name is pulled in the rendering. Katniss volunteers to represent District Twelve in the Hunger Games in her sister’s place. Shortly thereafter, she is taken by train to the Capital. Everything in the film is in shades of blue and gray until Katniss arrives on the train. The first scene in the train has a buffet style spread that has varieties of pastries, fruits, and beverages in vibrant colors. Even the food back in District Twelve were in muted tones. Food is plentiful during the training for the contenders and more is to come for the winner of the Hunger Games

Early in the throes of the Hunger Games, Katniss is trapped, high in a tree while her foe patiently waiting for her to come down so that they can kill her. A young, spry girl named Rue helps Katniss to escape and nurses her back to health and Katniss shares with the child some meat that she trapped. The meat is offered in exchange for saving Katniss’s life. We see, again, the value of a life in relationship to food.

In the Hunger Games, the contenders from the wealthier districts have more food. A constant theme in the film is that food is the equivalent of money and power. In effort to level the playing field, Katniss destroys her enemy’s food supply. When her foe realizes that he’s lost the food supply, he becomes so enraged that he snaps the neck of the person tasked with guarding the food. Katniss later joins forces with Peeta, also from District Twelve, once they learn that there can be two winners–granted that they are both from the same district. Katniss reflected on a time that Peeta gave her a loaf of bread from his family bakery and in return for this payment she saved his life several times throughout the games.

The key difference between the novel and the film, is the ability that the novel had to provide more detail about the extent to which Katniss had to go in order to get the food to feed her family. I am glad that I was able to read the novel before watching the film. In this case, I understood that Katniss was not just fighting for her life in the Hunger Games, but she was fighting for her ability to survival back home in District Twelve. The Hunger Games served as entertainment for the people of the Capital. The officials kept their citizens in a constant state of food insecurity which drove them to the point where people were willing to kill for food. Welcome to the Hunger Games.

Chicken Enchiladas

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The Background :

Some of my fondest memories in my childhood was making chicken enchiladas with my family. As a child my mother would tell my siblings and I that it was my father’s favorite dish and how she made it out of love.

The story has it that when my mother first took my father to meet the family back home in Arizona my tias made chicken enchiladas. My father loved them so much that he requested my mother to get the recipe before they returned back to California. From that point on my mother would make chicken enchiladas for my father for Valentine’s Day and his birthday. When my parents broke up my mother would only make enchiladas for my siblings birthdays or if we begged her enough and did all the preparation for our assembly line.

Back when I was a kid we would have to shred the block of cheese with a cheese grater, bake or boil the chicken, and or dice up the white onions. Since there were some many steps I would assign each of my siblings a task and get everything ready. All my mother had to do was make the enchiladas sauce which she makes from scratch. My mother would put on some music while my siblings and I would dance and sing to the beat as if cooking with music gave us life. I truly feel like we would put our blood, sweat, and tears into each batch as there was always an episode. Someone would always cut themselves on the cheese grater, burn themselves with the hot oil, or my little brother would eat all the cheese before we were done. No matter who was mad at who we would laugh and joke around as we prepared each step as if nothing else matter but the food.

Since it is a little easier to prepare as we can buy many items pre-made, Here is a quick recipe for chicken enchiladas.

Ingredients :

1 Bag of Baked or Rotisserie Chicken
2 Cans of Las Palmas Enchiladas Sauce (preferably Mild)
1 Pack of Corn Tortillas (approx. qty 30+)
2 Packs of Shredded Cheese (Preferably Mixed Blend)
About 1 cup of Vegetable Oil (depending on size of cooking pan)

Prefered Utensils :

1 pair of tongs
1 – Stir Spoon
1 – Non stick frying pan
1 – saucepan
1 – 13 x 9 baking pan
2 – medium bowls

Preparation Instructions (buliding the assembly line) :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place shredded cheese in bowl
Shred chicken and place in bowl
Warm up enchilada sauce on low heat to a shimmer
Place oil in frying pan and warm on medium heat until oil starts to bubble
With tongs place tortilla in hot oil for 15 – 20 seconds then flip tortilla over for another 15-20 seconds so that the tortilla is slightly cooked

Assembly Line :

Line up the following:
Bowl of cheese
Bowl of chicken
baking pan
Saucepan

 

 

Let it ROLL :

Splash some enchiladas sauce in baking pan

Dip the slightly cooked corn tortilla in the warmed saucepan soaking up the sauce
Place tortilla in baking pan
Grab a pinch (or desired amount) of chicken and form a line down the middle of tortilla
Grab a pinch (or desired amount) of cheese and re-trace line down the middle of tortilla
From the left middle part of tortilla begin to roll then tuck the enchilada then slide to the right side of baking pan
Repeat until all tortillas have been rolled

Add additional enchilada sauce and cheese on the top
Place in warm oven for 20 minutes (or until all cheese has melted)

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes
Enjoy 🙂

 

Symbolic Analysis :

It is a dish that brings my family together and truly made with love

 

Nutrition Facts :

may vary due to the type/amount of cheese, enchiladas sauce, and other products added to recipe.

Based on Wikipedia calories can vary from 238 – 400 per serving.

 

Reference :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enchilada

 

Machaca with Vegetables

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Prior to refrigeration, my grandparents preserved meals by the process of dehydration and hydration through the cooking process. Currently, my family continues to dehydrate meats; pork, fish as well as seeds and other fruits.
Dried Meat/Carne Seca is made of thin slices with sprinkled salt, hung up in the sun to dry, roasted over coal and beat turning it into machaca. I have brought cachaça with vegetables. It is cooked with onions, tomatoes, and chili. Beans and hand-made tortillas are typically included in this entrée. There are other ways to prepare this meat some are machaca with eggs, cachaça soup, burrito and machaça with vegetables along with a side of beans and tortillas.

STEP 1

Dry the Meat under the sun.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/14323530@N05/2150993455/in/gallery-163196158@N08-72157664286097697/
STEP 2
Break it up into shred.

Carne Seca: Dried steak, shredded

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My grandparents, parents, siblings, my children and husband are the most important people in my family. I lived with my grandparents as a young child during the time my
parents migrated to the United States. During that time my grandparents cared and gave me what they knew and had to offer that includes food. They also taught me the value of a good work ethic as all food was made from scratch and it was hard work to prepare a meal.

Final product Machaca with Vegetables

Picture by Nora @ El Sinaloense

 

Cinnamon Roll Mornings

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One of the many foods that are symbolic to me is cinnamon rolls. I have fond memories of eating freshly baked cinnamon rolls dripping with cream cheese frosting many mornings before school throughout my childhood.

Several mornings, after eating a big homemade breakfast, it was oftentimes finished off with the gooey cinnamon dessert. There was something about the smell of baked goods fresh out of the oven in the morning that somehow evoked a feeling of family, love, and comfort for me. I vividly remember how starting my mornings off this way was a precursor as to how my entire day would be. The little pastry roll brought me joy and I knew I was ready to take on the day. Off I went, grabbing my backpack and lunch pail with the extra box of rolls and other pastries and headed to school to share.

Seeing that I am the daughter of a restaurant and bakery owner, I like to tell people I grew up having my own personal chef and baker. But more than the cinnamon rolls, pastries, and big meals I was spoiled with, it was my father’s love of sharing the food he worked so hard throughout the night to make that I relate my childhood and cinnamon rolls (and food altogether) with. I know pastries were not the healthiest way to start off a day but it sure was good for the spirit and soul.

Not only do I connect my childhood with eating the cream cheese delight but with learning how to make them. Although my father was not known to be the most patient man he did his best when teaching me how to cook and bake. Since I was the only one of my three sisters who had a desire to learn, I can only assume his patience would have been tested even further if having more than one young student trying to follow his quick instruction. Even beyond learning how to combine the perfect amount of ingredients to create the blissful dessert is my father’s journey to the business he worked so hard for. Born of Mexican immigrants and raised in Lincoln Heights, he began working for German chefs and bakers at the age of twelve. Having dropped out of school to help his parents financially, his youthful years of employment afforded him the opportunity to become his own boss by the age of twenty-five. He never worked for anyone else again. Unfortunately, he passed away three years ago, but the memories he left me are by far, irreplaceable.

Yes, cinnamon rolls are significant to me not only because of my childhood memories of the delicious aroma that filled the house as a child or the way they were able to get me ready for a great day but of the hardships my father endured and overcame. The unconditional love and support he gave to my mother, sisters and I, are what I think about every time I enjoy this soft and fluffy treat.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hunger Games Extra Credit Review

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The Hunger Games Extra Credit Review

Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games (2008) novel, describes in detail the survival skills young boys and girls must have in order to become a “victor” in the hunger games. The movie The Hunger Games (2012) also details how boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 must survive the killings in order to successfully become the “victor” in the hunger games. In The Hunger Games (both the novel and the movie) the reader/viewer can understand the need to fight till death for food. The Hunger Games demonstrates the barbaric culture among the districts as they kill each other for food. One can immediately see the inequality that exists between the rich and the poor. In Panem, the rich live in the Capitol and the poor live in the districts. Among the disparity between rich and poor, food is the most evident. This is how one can distinguish the difference that exists among the rich and poor. The rich do not have to compete for food as the poor do. Many of the families in the districts do not have enough food to eat. Food becomes the primary need for the families in Panem.

Katniss Everdeen lives with her mother and her 12-year-old sister. Her father died in a mine explosion. Katniss then becomes the family’s sole provider. Afraid of being caught, she must secretly hunt for food because she knows that it is illegal to do so in the woods (Collins, 2008, p. 3). Hunting becomes part of District 12’s culture. Katniss and Gale, both from District 12, hunt for food for their families. The hunger games are televised games in which one boy and one girl from each of the 12 districts will compete till death against each other for food.  Their names are drawn randomly once a year during what is called the reaping. Food is the most important element in Panem. In chapter one, page six, Katniss states that families in District 12 starve to death, therefore they must obtain food one way or another.

One example from chapter one, page four, from The Hunger Games, the reader can understand how love and food are an important part of their culture. The love that Katniss has for her little sister Prim, demonstrates how this affection is part of their culture. She takes her little sister’s place in the reaping to protect her. At the beginning of the film as well as the novel, Katniss’ little sister, Prim, leaves her a small piece of goat’s cheese on the day of the reaping. For Katniss, this is a dear present from Prim. So dear that she rather save it than eat it right away. As she meets Gale in the woods, he shares a loaf of bread with her and she in return shares the small piece of goat’s cheese Prim gave her. Contrary to the novel, in the movie the audience does not see the piece of cheese on the table, but Gale does share a piece of bread with Katniss. As a reader/viewer, we can appreciate how even sharing a small piece of food is also an important part of their culture. Comparing the novel and the film, there are certain instances where the book is more descriptive than the film. Never the less, one can understand the appreciation the characters have for food.

In chapter two, page 31, from The Hunger Games, Peeta gives Katniss two loaves of burnt bread so she can take home and feed her mother and sister. That became an important moment for Katniss, knowing that Peeta probably took a beating from his mother because of the burned bread. For Katniss, that was a sign of Peeta’s compassionate side, even if he took a beating for it. She thought that he must have burned the bread on purpose because he knew that burned bread was not going to sell. This scene in the film is seen as it is described in the book. Once again, the importance of food plays a big role in the story. Katniss can never forget Peeta’s compassion and somehow her gratitude towards him is what saves him during the hunger games.

Chapter three, page 40, from The Hunger Games, describes how Katniss begs Gale to take care of her family and not let them starve. Although Katniss and her family suffer from hunger, she is well mannered when supper is served on the train ride to the Capitol. Katniss has never eaten so much good food to the point that her stomach resents it because she is not used to eating in abundance. Although there is considerable amount of food before her, she can’t help to think that back at District 12 her family has nothing to eat. Contrary to the chapter in the book, the abundance of food on the table is not visible to the audience on the train ride scene in the film.

The film and the novel each have a specific technique to discuss food and culture in a detailed manner which lets the reader/viewer understand how precious food can be. After reading the book and viewing the film, one can understand that the hunger games is mostly a determination to obtain food for the families of the competitors using methods and skills that will grant them victory in the end. The hunger games are exactly what the title describes, a game where hunger is the driving force to win the competition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Jacobson, N. (Producer), Kilik, J.  (Producer), & Ross, G. (Director). (2012). The Hunger Games (Motion Picture). United States: Lionsgate & Color Force.

Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

Russian Tea Cakes and Mexican Wedding Ball Cookies Unite

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It was a difficult choice choosing a recipe that was closest to my heart. There are so many recipes I enjoy cooking depending on how I feel. I find cooking and baking relaxing, therapeutic and it connects me to a time I spent working alongside my grandmother as a child. I love working with my hands, too. I chose to combine a Russian Tea cake and Mexican Wedding ball cooke. It is a simple recipe using few ingredients and embodies the flavors I love. It is a delicate cookie that is buttery, sweet, nutty, and pairs well with coffee. It is easily adaptable too.

Russian Tea cake/Mexican Wedding ball cookie recipe: 

2 cups organic flour (using a dry measure)                 Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1 cup walnuts and pecans pulsed in a food processor

1 cup salted butter (unsalted can be used)

1/3 of a cup of organic granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups organic confectioners’ sugar

Russian Tea Cake Photo attribution by Tamara Clark

 

 

 

 

Directions: Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Sift in flour and mix. Add nuts and mix until they are well incorporated into the dough. Using a tablespoon, shape into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool. In a large bowl, add confectioners’ sugar and roll each cookie in the sugar until fully coated.

Every Christmas, my grandmother, Irma, would give each of her five grandchildren a large cake box containing a variety of cookies. Beautifully arranged into three layers and sectioned. Every year, I would anxiously await her gift of cookies over all other material goods. It was the gift I always opened first, and to receive them was simply divine. My grandma would bake 28 different types cookies or more and pack a half dozen of each in our boxes. My grandmother was a commercial baker for over forty years. She worked for Hostess and Ramona’s Bakery in San Pedro. Baking was inherent to her. Her parents were Russian and German immigrants who owned restaurants in Philadelphia, PA, and in later years, a delicatessen near USC.

For the approaching Christmas season, my grandma would strategically start her dough prepping process the day after Thanksgiving. She would start by making a few cookie dough’s a day, freeze them and repeat. She meticulously labeled her dough’s with name, weight and cooking time. Depending on the weight of the dough, she could determine the yield. In the days leading up to Christmas, she would start baking. Some of her cookies were the standard fare like ginger snaps, thumbprints, molasses and lemon shortbread’s. But the majority of her cookies were more unique like chrusciki, pin wheels,hamentashchen, checkerboards, almondcrescents,tassies, mandelbrot,vanillekipferl and bourbon balls. Her cookies were meticulously shaped and uniform. They were bite sized and absolutely perfect.

My grandma turned ninety five this past November. She has lost her appetite for food and her health is declining rapidly. I take my son to see his great grandmother as often as possible. What I have come to understand is that time is the greatest gift you can give to a person. When my grandma passes away, which will be a sad day for me, I will still have the recipes she has gifted me and a son that loves to help me in the kitchen.

Grandma Bush & Matthew 1/12/2018 Photo by Rochelle Tomic

Frijoles Puercos

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Frijoles puercos (pork beans)

Today I will present to you a different way of preparing a simple but delicious traditional Mexican recipe for beans. This traditional Mexican side dish is one of my favorite dishes. I love food, especially my Mexican food. Frijoles puercos is simply translated to pork beans. This recipe is just one of the many ways to cook beans. I am not a great cook as a matter of fact I am not a cook at all, but I try my best. The kitchen is not really my friend, so I must be very careful whenever I enter that zone. After a long day at work, I can only cook quick and simple meals on a daily basis.

Frijoles puercos is a traditional side dish from Nayarit, Mexico, where my mother was born. My mother was raised in a small poor village where frijoles puercos were served as a side dish only as part of a great feast celebration such as weddings, quinceañeras (a young lady’s XV year celebration), first communions, etc. As she explained to me, pork chorizo was an ingredient that was not so affordable for her family of 11. My mother explained to me that her family was so poor that they would only be able to eat beans cooked in water and salt. Now, we prepare frijoles puercos almost on a daily basis they became part of a daily meal. This dish has a symbolic meaning to me because 26 years ago my mother thought that frijoles puercos was a side dish that deserved to be prepared as part of a big celebration. In my mother’s eyes, her only daughter’s wedding feast deserved to have frijoles puercos. From that day forward, frijoles puercos became part of a possible daily meal in my home. This is how this food connects with me now.

The way I prepare these frijoles puercos is a quick and simple way.  Frijoles puercos are not difficult to make and do not include many ingredients. My simple recipe includes the following ingredients: cooked beans (I like to use pinto beans for this side dish), pork chorizo, sliced pickled jalapeño peppers, and queso fresco (part skim milk cheese). The ingredients do not have to be of a specific brand.  

I like to make frijoles puercos because it is one of the few ways I like to eat beans. The other way I like to eat them is when they have been cooked in plain water with salt. They are nice and hot directly from the pot (frijoles de la olla). I cook the pinto beans in water with salt with no other ingredients. I mash the beans in a sauté pan once they’re cooked, I set them aside. On another pan, I cook the pork chorizo until it begins to darken, then set it aside as well. The sliced pickled jalapeño peppers must be drained. I grate the cheese so that it can be easy to drizzle over the finished dish. Once the chorizo is browned, I transfer the beans over to the pan, add the jalapeño peppers, and mix everything over low heat. Once the ingredients are mixed, I drizzle the grated cheese over them. All there is left is to enjoy.

Gil Hurtado’s Blog: Lily’s Potato Salad

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Gil Hurtado’s Blog Entry:

 

Lily’s Potato Salad

 

First of all, I love my wife’s cooking. She makes every effort to provide a meal that is tasty, healthy, and economical. It was difficult making a selection. I sat at the table and began making a list. It started getting a little too long. Sure enough, I ended up choosing the first thing on the list. Lily’s Potato Salad.

Before I go on, I need to share a little about me and Lily. She was born and raised in Mexico. While I was born here in the U.S. Before my mom passed away, she had been very good friends with Lily’s mom. Don’t ask me why but, they would throw us in the same crib. So yes, I’ve been sleeping with my wife since we were about two years of age. We kind of just got used to each other but were unaware of each other’s feelings. I asked her to marry me when we were twenty. We never even dated. She said yes just as her boyfriend arrived. He was bringing her a box of chocolates. I suggested that she take the chocolates first, then break the news to him. I guess she was classier than I was because she didn’t take the chocolates.
We got married on March 30th, 1981. That’s the day Ronald Reagan was shot. It was a great day marred by that tragic event. In any case, it was Reaganomics that caused some of our financial problems. Hiring freezes kept me unemployed. Times were tough.

We got by on some savings that I had. But, we needed to stretch this money somehow. Lily found a way to make meals that we could eat as a snack or as part of a meal. Potato salad was one of those meals/snacks. She would read a variety of recipes and pick and choose how these ingredients could be personalized. The measurements vary every time she makes it. She is constantly tasting it and adds a pinch of this and a pinch of that. The result is fantastic. Family and friends ask her to bring this when we do potlucks.

Here are the ingredients with more or less the measurements that she would recommend:
(Serves 5-6)

• 4 Large Potatoes. (High in Potassium, which fights loss of muscle mass, fights off kidney-stones, lowers risk of stroke, and blood-pressure. High in Vitamin C, which is great for fighting cancer and great for the immune system).
• 3 Celery stalks. (Lowers cholesterol, high in potassium, great for weight control)
• 3 Scallions. (It’s the lightest of the onions in regards to taste. Not too strong.)
• ½ Cup of pitted black olives. (Low in calories.)
• 2 Hardboiled eggs. (Good source of Protein. Great for muscle mass.)
• Mayonnaise. The amount is based on your taste. Some people like a lot.
• Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Salt based on your taste.

This meal is symbolic of our struggle early on without sacrificing taste or nutrition. Ethically, perfect for vegetarian. My seven-year-old granddaughter says it best, “Gemma, you cook better than Taco Bell”.