Easter 2009

Praise the Lord, He is risen!

Linda and I enjoyed a very nice Easter weekend. Saturday night we enjoyed dinner with marilyn and Dwight Johnson and their oldest son Matt and his girlfriend Tanna. Dwight and I were celebrating the successful conclusion of the Radio Auction. I was experimenting on them with a heart-of-palm salad that incorporated apples and avocado. I had never tried heart-of-palm and found it somewhat like artichoke heart in taste and texture. Everyone enjoyed it; here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 3 cups mixed salad greens
• 1 avocado - pitted, peeled, and cubed
• 2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced thin
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup sliced hearts of palm

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, ketchup, sugar, lemon juice, paprika, and pepper together. Stir in the chives and set aside.
2. Arrange the watercress on individual serving plates. Place apple, avocado, hearts of palm on top. Sprinkle with walnuts and drizzle with dressing.
3. Evenly sprinkle dressing over salad and serve.

Sunday morning we reported to the Methodist Church for a short choir practice. Linda was leading but who watches a conductor anyway? Conductors are for wimps! (Don't tell her I said that.) We did a couple of Easter-type songs which the congregation appreciated.

The really big surprise of the day was a former student who, in 4th grade, I was ready to consign to the Oregon Prison System. Seriously! He introduced himself and his wife and told me a little about his last 12 years. He joined the National Guard and became a good cook. Then in a big switch, he went to school in this coming week graduates as an RN from Blue Mountain Community College. What a wonderful change! I've thought about and worried about that guy for years and it is a relief to se that despite the odds and early evidence to the contrary, he is making something of himself. He has a very pleasant wife to whom he gives most of the credit for his turn around.

John