May Day! May Day! - Country Cousin

Hard to believe, but May is here. In two weeks it will be Mother’s Day, then comes Memorial Day and our beautiful fun-filled TIMESLand summertime.

Heard my first Whip Poor Will call of the season on Friday morning. Birds are chirping and flowers are blooming everywhere!

Isn’t life grand?

MOM’S DAY

Most Moms today have enough “stuff” to fill a spare house or two, and what they really appreciate for Mother’s Day are homemade gifts that are heartfelt expressions of love.

Perhaps a hand-written letter telling Mom about some of the things you love best about her, or things you have most enjoyed doing with her?

Perhaps a framed photo of something you have loved doing with her?

Perhaps a craft created by you or your child?

Perhaps a plaster cast of a grandchild’s tiny hand or foot?

Think now. There’s still time!

BASEBALL

Baseball season is in full swing. The late great Yogi Berra said Little League Baseball is a very good thing because it keeps parents off the streets. He was right!

Baseball breeds philosophers too. Casey Stengel observed the secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided. That plan also works pretty well in all walks of life, not just baseball.

“Don’t look back,” advised Satchell Paige. “Something might be gaining on you.”

MAY IS FOR MARRIAGE???

Back in the days of Merrie Olde England (and other nations too) couples scheduled weddings for spring, after the water and the weather became warm enough for them to take off their winter garb and bathe the accumulated grime and odors away. Thus, May and June became traditional wedding months.

That, and probably the fact that flowers were again available for decorating the bride and groom, and the bower they were to be wed in.

Just read that in their marriage ceremonies, the ancient Incas of Peru took off their sandals and handed them to each other to bind their wedding vows.

At one time in Europe the bride’s father would hand the groom his daughter’s shoe during the ceremony, and the groom would tap her on the head with it, to show his authority. No info on whether or not the bride was allowed to tap him back, but probably not. 

Anyway, also during the Middle Ages, it became traditional to throw old shoes at the happy couple to wish them good fortune and ward off evil.

MAY DAY! MAY DAY!

Anyone who grew up in a maritime community (or in the World War II era) probably is familiar with the term “Mayday” as a distress call from ships in trouble. Ironically, though, the May Day call was - and is - an aviation call for help, and officially has nothing to do with shipping.

The term also has nothing to do with a date. It originates from the French phrase “m’aider” which means “help me”. It was first adopted as a distress signal for aviation in the early 1920s. The credit for its implementation goes to Frederick Stanley Mockford, a senior radio officer at London’s Croydon Airport. The term was chosen because of its distinctive sound and clarity, making it easily recognizable over radio transmissions. 

Successful use of the Mayday call, along with some very skillful piloting, is credited with having brought about what was called the Miracle of the Hudson River back in 2009.  The pilot, Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, declared a May Day distress call and skillfully executed an emergency landing on the Hudson River when his plane truck a flock of geese shortly after takeoff, causing both engines to fail. His prompt May Day call under extreme stress allowed emergency services to swiftly respond, resulting in safe evacuation of all passengers and crew, bringing a happy ending to what could so easily have been a major tragedy.

Hanging a flag upside down from a ship is recognized as a call for help from vessels that sail the seas rather than the airways.

COOKIN’ TIME

Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that no one in the TIMESLand area had ever even heard of when I was a girl. Some say it is Mexican Independence Day, but others say it is just a day celebrating Mexican victory over foreign domination. Since we Americans are pretty good at adopting any good reason for a celebration, and since most of us have come to know and love the flavors that have crossed the border from Mexico, Cinco de Mayo gives us a good reason to enjoy them, just as St. Patrick’s Day gives us a grand excuse to enjoy Corned Beef and Cabbage.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

This is worthy of any celebration. Rotisserie chicken works well, but be sure to save the juices that come with the chicken and boil it with the trimmed off skin and bones to produce the broth. Or pre-boil your chicken with water, celery, onions and seasonings for a good soup. Use two cups of the broth for this great Cinco De Mayo recipe, and make for Chicken Soup with the rest.

2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, diced

2 cups broth, reserved from the chicken

3 tablespoons canola oil

12 whole corn tortillas (or flour ones, if you must)

1 large onion, diced

12 ounces green chilies, diced

1 whole jalapeño Chile. seeded and finely diced

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup sour cream

2 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated

salt

pepper

cilantro, chopped, optional

Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tortillas for no longer than 20 seconds. Place tortillas on a large towel or stack of paper towels to drain. (Or simply soften the tortilla shells by wrapping them in damp paper towels and heating in the microwave.) Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Add onions and jalapeños and sauté for 1 minute, just to start the cooking process. Add chicken, half of the green chilies, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Add cream and stir, allowing mixture to bubble and get hot. Turn off heat and set aside. In a separate large skillet, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium heat for one minute. Pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for another minute or two after it comes back to a boil. Stir in the other half of the chilies. Reduce heat, and then stir in sour cream and the 1/2 teaspoon paprika.  Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Pour the cheese mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Top with extra cheese if you’d like, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle generously with chopped fresh cilantro, if you like it. I personally do not. Minced fresh parsley is a good substitute, although it thankfully tastes nothing like cilantro. If using fresh cilantro, use only the leafy parts, never, ever snip even a bit of the stem. 

TEXICAN RIBS WITH MOLE MOP SAUCE

Not authentic Mexican, but like most good things in this country, it combines some of the best flavors of various ethnic groups into an entirely new and wonderful taste treat. Ribs are perfect for Cinco de Mayo, which falls on Sunday this year, so take advantage of spring and use that grill to help celebrate a holiday that didn’t exist around here when I was a kid.

3 pounds baby back ribs

Coffee Rub:

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons chili powder (Preferably Ancho)

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Mole Mop Sauce:

1 tablespoon Coffee Rub

1/2 cup chicken broth, heated

1/3 cup cashew butter (or peanut butter)

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all Coffee Rub ingredients in a small bowl until well blended. Reserve 1 tablespoon for the Mole Mop Sauce. Rub the remaining Coffee Rub evenly over ribs. Place them in a single layer on a foil-lined roasting pan, cover with foil, and bake 1 hour or until meat starts to pull away from the bones. Just before grilling, prepare the Mole Mop Sauce. Mix chicken stock, cashew or peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of the cilantro, lime juice and reserved Coffee Rub in a medium bowl until well blended. Baste ribs with some of the mop sauce and grill over medium-high coals a minute or two per side or until evenly browned, basting with some of the Mole Mop Sauce as they cook, especially when you turn them. Transfer ribs to serving platter. If you like it, add a tablespoon of the remaining cilantro to the remaining Mole Mop Sauce. Brush onto ribs. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro to serve.

Thought for the week: Keep smiling and people will wonder what you’ve been up to. Laugh at yourself, make others laugh with you, and you’ll always have friends. As a famous actress once said, “Life is tough, but if you have the ability to laugh at it you have the ability to enjoy it.” And never pass up a chance to share a smile, a kind word or a good deed. You never know when that chance may come your way again.

(This column is written by Shirley Prudhomme of Crivitz. Views expressed are her own and are in no way intended to be an official statement of the opinions of Peshtigo Times editors and publishers. She may be contacted by phone at (715)927-5034 or by e-mail at shirleyprudhommechickadee@yahoo.com.)